45 million people threatened by famine in Southern Africa

45 million people threatened by famine in Southern Africa
© Belga

45 million people are threatened by famine in Southern Africa due to drought, floods and economic hardship in their countries, the United Nations warned on Thursday.

"This hunger crisis is reaching unprecedented proportions, and our field observations show that it will still get worse," says Lola Castro from the World Food Program.

For five years now, the entire Southern tip of Africa suffers from a significant lack of rain, aggravated by repeated episodes of the climatic anomaly known as El Nino, which affect agricultural crops in sixteen countries, mostly very poor.

Global warming temperatures are also causing increasingly violent storms and hurricanes.

Last year, the tropical cyclone Idai caused catastrophic floods in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi, killing more than a thousand people, creating significant damage and leaving several million people in despair.

This year, World Food Program plans to assist 8.3 million people who are facing food insecurity in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Madagascar, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini and Malawi.

The UN agency reiterated on Thursday its urgent appeal to the international community and donors, saying it has only received 205 millions dollars so far out of the 489 millions needed to fund its emergency aid projects.

The Brussels Times


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